1 Cor 3:1-9 / Luke 4:38-44
There is one profound aspect in the ministry of Jesus that we can't miss and it is something that we wish to see happening more frequently.
Besides teaching the people about the kingdom of God, the other profound aspect of the ministry of Jesus was the healing.
The gospels paid special attention to the healing ministry of Jesus because it was an expression of the proclamation of the Good News that He came to proclaim.
But the healing ministry is only one side of the coin; the other equally important aspect of the ministry of Jesus was the teaching and the proclamation of the Good News of the kingdom of God.
It can be said, and quite correctly, that from the teaching and proclamation of the Good News flows the healing ministry.
People must be cleansed and formed by the Good News before any healing can take place.
In today's gospel passage, we hear of Jesus, after His healing ministry, He went off to a lonely place to pray. It was necessary for Him to go back to God in order to keep up with the ministry of teaching, proclaiming and healing.
Without prayer, then we will become like the Corinthians that St. Paul chided for not being people of the Spirit, for being mere sensual men and for being unspiritual. That was why they had their slogans and were divided among themselves.
So let us follow Jesus in finding a lonely place for prayer. Let us pray with Jesus, listen to His Word and bring healing to those in need.